Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-04-04


and at the close they 90 away
feeling they have been on the Mount OF
ansfiguration-that is a live school, and
1t is characteristic OF a live church.
There is only one thing have against the
Sabbath schools of this country, and that
is, they are too respectable. We gather
into our schools the children of the re-
fined, and the cultured, and the educated
but alas for the great multitude OF the
children of the abandoned and the lost
A few OF them are gathered into our Sab
bath schools: but what about the 10000
destitute children of New YORK, and the
score Of thousands of destitute children
of Brooklyn, around whom are thrown no
benign and heavenly and Christian inilu-
ences? 1t is tremendous question, what
Is to become OF the destitute children OF
these citlesf We must either act on them
or they will act on us. We will either
Christlanize them or they will heathenize
us. 1t is question not more for the Chris
tian than for the philanthropio and the
statesman. Oh! II We could have all
these suffering little ones gathered to-
gether, what scene of hunger, and
wretchedness, and rags, and SIN, and
trouble, and darkness! II we could see
those little feet on the broad road to
death, which through Christian charity
ought to be pressing the narrow path of
life; If we could hear those voices in
blasphemy, which ought to be singing the
praises OF God; Ii we could see those ht-
tie hearts, which at that age ought not
to be sOiled with one unclean thought, be-
coming the sewers for every abomination /;
il we could see those suffering little ones
sacrificed on the altar OF every iniquitous
passion, and baptized with fire from the
lava OF the pit we would recoil, crying
out: "Avaunt, thou dream OF help
They are not always going to be
children. They are coming up to be
the men and women OF this country. That
spark of inlquity that might now be put
out with one drop of the water of lie
will become the conflagration OF every
green thing that God ever planted in the
soul. That which ought to have been
temple of the Holy Ghost will become a
SCARED and blistered ruin-every light
quenched and every altar in the dust
That petty thief, who slips into your store
aud takes yard of cloth from your coun-
ter, will become the highwayman of the
forest, or the burglar at midnight, pick
Ing the lock OF your money safe and blow
ing up your store to hide The villiany. A
great army, with staggering step, and
bloodshOt eye, and drunken hoot, they are
coming on-gathering recruits from every
grog shop and den OF infamy In the land,
to take the ballot box and hurran at the
elections. The hard-knuckled fist of ruff
fanfsm will have more power than the
gentle hand of intelligence and sobriety.
Men, bloated, and with the signature Of
ain burned In from the top OF the
forehead tothe bottom Of the chin, will
look honest men out OF cOuntenance
Moral cOrpses, which ought to be buried
hundred feet deep TO keep them from
poisoning the air, will rot in the face Of
the sun at monday. Industry IN her
plain frock will be unappreciated, while
thousands eff men will wander around In
idleness, with their hands on their hips.
saying: The world owes us living"
., what a tremendous power there Is in
iniquity when uneduoated, and unre-
strained, and unblanched it goes on con-
ceEtrating, and deepening, and widening,
and gathering momentum until it swings
ahead with very triumph of desolation,
drowning like surges, scorching like
flames, crushing like rocks! WHAT are
you going to do with this abandoned pop-
ulation OF the streets? Will you gather
them in churches? 1t is not the Will of
your Heavenly Father that one
perish. Ii you have ten respectable
children in your class, gather In ten that
are not respectable. If III your Bible
class there be twenty young men who
have come from Christian homes and ele-
CANT surroundings, let those twenty
young men go out and gather in twenty
more OF the young men OF the city who
are lost to God and lost to society. This
outside population, unless educated ana
restrained, will work terror in ages that
are to come. Years ago at New Orleans,
when the cholera was raging feartully,
steam boat put out just before nightfall,
I,1 xrvIs IA
ing to escape from the pestllence. After
the boat had been out little while, the
engineer fell with the cholera. The cap
tain, in CONSERVATION, went down among
the passengers and asked: "Is there any,
one here VINO knows anything about en-
gineeringW A swarthy man replied II
am an engineer" WELL" said the cap-
tain, IL would be very glad II you would
take charge OF this boat" The man went
to the engine. The steamer moved more
rapidly, until, after awhile, the captain
and some passengers were alarmed, and
they went TO see what was the matter,
and they found that this was a maniac
engineer, and that he was seated on the
safety-valve, and, az they came to him,
he said: IL am commissioned of Satan TO
drive this steamer TO hellp and he flour
ished his pistol, aud would not come
down. But after awhile, through some
stratagem, he was brought from his posi-.
ton, and the lives of the passengers were
saved, ., my friends, that steamer had
no such peril as our institutions are
threat ened with, IL the ignorant and un-
restrained children OF this land shall
come up in their ignorance and their
crime TO engineer our civil and religious
institutions, and drive them on the rocks
Educate this abandoned population, or
they Will overthrow the institutions Of
this land. Gather them into your Sab
bath schools. 4 congratulate you that
many have been gathered. Go forth,
teachers. In the name OF the Lord Jesus
ChrIst, and on the coming Sabbaths may
there be found gathered scores and hum
dreds OF these wanderers, and instead of
eighteen hundred In the Sabbath school,
we shall see three Thousand or tour thou
sand, and the grace OF God will come
down upon them, and the Holy Spirit
will bring them all into the truth.
Another characteristic OF live church
Is one with appropriate architecture. In
the far West and amid destitute popula-
tion log church is very appropriate
the people living In log houses. But In
communities where people live in com
Portable abDdes, a church uncommod ious
or lacking In beauty is a moral nuisance.
Because Christ was born in n manger is
no reason why we should worship Him in
barn. Let the churches OF Jesus Christ
he not only comfortable, but ornate.
Years ago Ne resolved to have a COM
Portable church. We resolved that 1t
should he amphitheatrical in shape. The